Myanmar Denies Report of ‘Massacre’ in Rakhine

 

The government of Myanmar has answered a report by the Associated Press that said there are mass burials in a village in Rakhine state.

The AP’s report on February 2 said that members of Myanmar’s security forces had carried out a massacre¹ in the village of Gu Dar Pyin. The incident reportedly took place on August 27.

The AP noted³ that witnesses, satellite pictures and video from mobile phones provided the evidence for its story. It also said that security forces burned some of the dead bodies with acid to hide the victims’ identities.

Seventy-five bodies have been found in graves in the village, the AP reported. But it added people living in the village say that 400 people were killed.

The incident happened days after attacks by fighters from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation⁴ Army (ARSA), a group fighting Myanmar’s government.

Myanmar’s government answers AP report

One day after the AP published its report, the government said local officials had visited the village to investigate the claims. The government stated that villagers told them “they had not heard of any massacres⁵ near their village.”

The government said ARSA fighters and about 500 villagers attacked security forces. The security forces acted, they said, in self-defense.

The full government response appeared in the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper. It said that 19 “bodies of terrorists” were found along with weapons -- including knives and spears.

The government has since said it may seek legal action against the AP.

Lauren Easton, the AP’s director of media relations, defended the story. In an email to VOA, she said, “The Associated Press stands by its reporting.”

Human rights groups have called for Myanmar to permit an independent team to investigate incidents in Rakhine State. The area in the western part of the country has largely been closed to reporters and activists⁷ since last August.

Rights groups call for an investigation⁸

Last year, the United Nations Human Rights Council created a mission to investigate the situation in western Myanmar.

But Myanmar denied visas to members of the mission as well as to U.N. Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee. She submitted a final report on her findings on February 1 after meeting with refugees from Myanmar in Bangladesh and Thailand.

In the report, Lee said, “the civilian⁹ government has failed to usher¹⁰ in a new era of openness and transparency and is instead persisting with repressive practices of the past.”

Dutch diplomat¹¹ Laetitia van den² Assum was a member of the Advisory¹² Commission on Rakhine State. The group released its final report to the government of Myanmar in August.

She called the AP report “deeply troubling.”

Van den Assum told VOA that the government reacted to the report too quickly. “This is simply not credible¹³ for serious crimes that require in-depth investigations,” she said.

She also said the U.N. mission will present its first report in March. It will be based on research done outside the country. She added, “No one should underestimate the importance of this report.”

David Mathieson of the activist⁶ group Human Rights Watch is a researcher. He told VOA that Myanmar’s attack on the AP report is another action against press freedom. He noted that in December two Reuters reporters were arrested and are still being held. The two men were covering the military campaign in Rakhine state.

An estimated 680,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled military operations in western Myanmar and gone to neighboring Bangladesh.

The U.N. has compared the situation there to “ethnic cleaning.”

I’m Mario Ritter.

Words in This Story

massacre –n. the killing¹⁴ of many unharmed and mainly innocent people

response –n. an comments or actions meant to reply to something

mission –n. a task or job that is meant to be done

usher –v. to bring in

transparency –n. a state of or policy of being open and hiding nothing

1 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

2 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

5 massacres   

大屠杀( massacre的名词复数 )； 惨败

参考例句：

• The time is past for guns and killings and massacres. 动不动就用枪、动不动就杀、大规模屠杀的时代已经过去了。 来自教父部分
• Numberless recent massacres were still vivid in their recollection. 近来那些不可胜数的屠杀，在他们的头脑中记忆犹新。

6 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

10 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。

11 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

12 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

13 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

14 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。